The measles outbreak has spread to another Ohio county, adding to what is now a total of 339
cases and eight hospitalizations in nine counties.

A 3-year-old Crawford County girl displayed symptoms of the highly contagious respiratory
disease after traveling to Wayne County this month, said Cynda Brause, director of nursing at the
Crawford County Health Department. The child had received her first immunization, but after the
recommended age of 1 year old. She was closer to her third birthday, Brause said.

Other affected counties are Ashland, Coshocton, Highland, Holmes, Knox, Richland, Stark and
Wayne, with more than half of the cases occurring in Knox County.

As the number of measles cases continues to rise, the nature of the disease makes it difficult
for health officials to predict, said Dr. Mary DiOrio, an epidemiologist with the Ohio Department
of Health.

“Unfortunately, it’s a bit hard to determine where we are in the outbreak,” DiOrio said
yesterday. “The problem with measles is that it has a long incubation period. People can get it and
not show any symptoms for two weeks.”

Measles symptoms usually appear seven to 18 days after exposure and include a fever followed by
a cough, a runny nose and a red, blotchy rash on the face that spreads down the neck and down the
body over several days.

It is most contagious four days before and four days after the rash appears. It can be deadly in
babies or young children.

The health department in Licking County hopes to halt the outbreak’s spread at the Knox County
line with a vaccination clinic from 9:30 a.m. to noon today at Utica High School. The clinic is
free for those without insurance.

The health department usually waives the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine fee for uninsured
children, but it is extending the offer to adults because of the magnitude of the outbreak, said
Licking County Health Commissioner Joe Ebel.

“Diseases obviously don’t stop at a county line, so we’re trying to make sure everyone close to
those outbreaks can make sure they’re up to date and protected,” Ebel said.

Despite the precaution, it’s “highly likely” that the disease will seep into Licking County,
Ebel said, and there have already been a few suspect cases that haven’t been confirmed.

Meanwhile, 433 cases of mumps have been linked to the central Ohio outbreak, with 238 tied to
Ohio State University and eight connected to Columbus State Community College as of Wednesday
afternoon.

Complications in local cases now include 12 cases with inflammation of the testicles, five cases
with inflammation of the ovaries, one case of deafness, as well as severe pain and
hospitalizations.

Although the central Ohio outbreak continues to spread, it is slowing and appears to be on a
downward slope, said Columbus Public Health spokesman Jose Rodriguez.

“We had a huge number of cases when the university was in session,” DiOrio said, “and then a
dropoff, and now we’re … in a slow continuation.”